AHL Power Rankings: Jacob Fowler, Laval Rocket Pushing

Patrick Williams delivers the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings each week throughout the regular season.

It’s Jacob Fowler’s net in Laval.

Mostly, anyway.

Rocket head coach gave Kaapo Kähkönen a start last Saturday afternoon in a 4-2 home win against the Toronto Marlies. Then it was back to Fowler on Monday afternoon for what turned out to be a 4-3 shootout loss in the rematch in Toronto

With a trip to Rochester this Friday followed by a Saturday-Sunday stop at Utica, Kähkönen should see another start.

It speaks to Laval’s strength-of-roster that a veteran like Kähkönen is a back-up option. But Fowler, a rookie All-Star selection for the Rocket, has been that good. Very much in contention to be the future in net for the Montreal Canadiens, Fowler has been able to blend in a little bit of everything since he left Boston College last April. He got experience last spring in the Calder Cup Playoffs as the Rocket went to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Then he came into his first full pro campaign, quickly took control in net for the Rocket, and then got a promotion to the Habs in December. In what turned out to be a 10-game showcase at the NHL level that stretched five weeks, Fowler showed quite capably. He then came back to the Rocket in time for a six-game road trip and readjusted to the more chaotic, more scrambly AHL game and took on a heavy workload. From there it was a detour to the AHL All-Star Classic last week and a chance to decompress a bit and then right back into the teeth of the AHL schedule.

While six points separate second place from the North Division’s fifth spot, the first-place Rocket are positioned to pull away from the rest of the division, perhaps as soon as this weekend. Their seven-point gap could grow, especially with two contests against Utica.

Fowler has put himself in contention for league awards with his 18-7-1 | 2.23 | .915 line through 26 games. Coming out of college, he has shown no difficulty handling the demands of a pro schedule.

With the Rocket, the 2024-25 regular-season champion, that test continues this weekend for them and their young goaltender.

1) Grand Rapids Griffins (–)
January’s (relative) slowdown is over. The Griffins are gobbling up points. For as well as they have played – they still have a chance to set league records this season – they are still trying to shake loose Providence.

2) Providence Bruins (–)
Twelve games. Twelve consecutive wins for the P-Bruins, who have tied their franchise record. At one point last weekend, they were briefly tied with the Griffins for first in the AHL in points. Now they have a 3-in-3 weekend ahead of them against three teams that are all below the playoff line. This streak could live on even longer as Providence tries to track down Grand Rapids.

3) Laval Rocket (+4)

4) Colorado Eagles (-1)
First, it was a 2-1 lead in Chicago that vanished last Saturday night. Then a 2-0 first-period lead on the Wolves fizzled the following afternoon. After four games in a row facing Chicago, the Eagles will get a fresh slate when the Coachella Valley Firebirds visit for a pair of games. The Colorado Avalanche put defenseman Jacob MacDonald on waivers after he missed the first four months of the season with hip surgery; he should be a massive addition for the Eagles.

5) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (-1)
When the Penguins are off, they are really off. Last weekend’s home loss to the Syracuse Crunch was one of those nights. They grabbed a point at home in an overtime loss to the Cleveland Monsters to make something of their weekend. With a trip to Springfield followed by a home-and-home series with the Bridgeport Islanders, the schedule offers the Penguins a chance for a get-well week.

6) Bakersfield Condors (–)
Matthew Savoie has joined the Condors. So has NHL veteran goaltender Calvin Pickard as the Bakersfield crease has gotten quite crowded. Going into Wednesday’s game with Coachella Valley, the Bakersfield coaching staff has plenty of line-up options.

7) Ontario Reign (-2)
Sure, it’s the second-half grind, and the Reign could argue that they outplayed the Abbotsford Canucks in a pair of road games. But they came away without a point in that two-game trip to Abbotsford against an opponent that is below the Pacific Division playoff line. Locking down first place in the Pacific Division is crucial to avoid having to play a dicey best-of-three series going into the postseason. If the Reign fall short, they can look back at this past weekend.

8) Charlotte Checkers (–)
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Checkers lost a home game to the lowly Hartford Wolf Pack. Then they got their revenge the next time out, blowing out the Wolf Pack with a 9-0 victory. When the Checkers are clicking, they can be potent. They still have slip-ups like the loss to Hartford, though. 

9) Chicago Wolves (+1)
Should there be a Chicago-Colorado match-up this spring, the Wolves have shown the Eagles that they can be a legitimate threat.

10) San Jose Barracuda (-1)
The Laurent Brossoit-Gabriel Carriere goaltending tandem remains shaky, though this team can sometimes score its way out of problems. Relying on goal-scoring down the stretch in this league is risky, though. After going to San Diego on Wednesday, they get three straight games against the Calgary Wranglers.

11) Toronto Marlies (+1)
They got a split of a home-and-home series with Laval. That would be a solid week for any team.

12) Coachella Valley Firebirds (-1)
With Nikke Kokko out for more than a month, Victor Östman has given the Firebirds a solid presence in net. He will need to continue to be that with stops in Bakersfield and Colorado this week for the Firebirds.

13) Syracuse Crunch (+1)
AHL All-Stars Jakob Pelletier and Conor Geekie came back from the break and helped the Crunch to a pair of road wins. A Friday-Saturday home match-up with Charlotte will be a good barometer for the Crunch.

14) Cleveland Monsters (+2)
The Monsters took care of business on a weekend trip to Pennsylvania to set themselves up well for Wednesday’s trip to Grand Rapids. They have the Marlies dropping by Friday and Saturday as well as a grueling stretch of the schedule continues. They see the Griffins three times three times through March 7.

15) Rochester Americans (-2)
After allowing seven goals on home ice to the last-place Utica Comets, now the Amerks face the one-two punch of Charlotte and Laval visiting this week. 

16) Manitoba Moose (-1)
Up one day, down another. That has been the theme for the Moose through much of this season despite one of the better rosters in the AHL. In a very winnable four-game homestand against the Calgary Wranglers and Iowa Wild, they need to rack up points, but inconsistency has plagued the Moose.

The Rest
17) San Diego Gulls (+1)
18) Texas Stars (-1)
19) Tucson Roadrunners (–)
20) Hershey Bears (–)
21) Belleville Senators (–)
22) Bridgeport Islanders (–)
23) Henderson Silver Knights (+1)
24) Milwaukee Admirals (+1)
25) Rockford IceHogs (+1)
26) Lehigh Valley Phantoms (-3)
27) Springfield Thunderbirds (+1)
28) Calgary Wranglers (-1)
29) Abbotsford Canucks (+2)
30) Utica Comets (–)
31) Iowa Wild (-2)
32) Hartford Wolf Pack (–)

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